Spagnuolo offers no magic solutions for a cruel road

~ The Rams are 0-4 on the road and have lost three of the games by a combined six points

ST. LOUIS -- During the bye week, St. Louis Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo revisited the travel routine in search of answers for the team's road woes.

Even before an overtime loss at San Francisco dropped the Rams to 0-4 on the road -- their first game back from the bye -- he concluded there was no magic solution. He doesn't believe the outcome would have been different if the team had flown two days ahead of kickoff.

"It's not a big dissection," Spagnuolo said Monday. "We don't need to come up with a revolutionary answer."

Rookie quarterback Sam Bradford negated crowd noise with silent counts so well that his hard counts induced seven offsides calls. Spagnuolo recalled that the New York Giants won 11 straight road games when he was their defensive coordinator, and, like the Rams, they traveled a day before the game.

San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore runs against the St. Louis Rams during the second quarter of an NFL football game in San Francisco, Sunday, Nov. 14, 2010. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

"Once I looked at it, I was done with it," Spagnuolo said. "I'm not going to get caught up in it. You win some and you lose some."

Spagnuolo's message to the team Monday: "Losing stinks. We're disappointed but not discouraged, and we shouldn't be. There was enough good there."

In two seasons, the Rams are 1-11 on the road under Spagnuolo. This season they've been competitive in all but one of the games, with three losses by a combined six points.

That's a big upgrade from 2009 when their lone win came on the road at Detroit, but they lost 47-7 at Tennessee, 35-0 at San Francisco, 28-0 at Seattle and 31-10 at Arizona. Spagnuolo said if he could change the outcome of just one play the last two games, the Rams would have a pair of road victories and this would no longer be an issue.

In Sunday's 23-20 setback, the play undoubtedly would have been a pass interference call on safety O.J. Atogwe that put the 49ers in easy position for the winning field goal. Tight end Delanie Walker reversed course going for an off-target pass from Troy Smith, just getting rid of the ball to avoid getting sacked by Chris Long, and was knocked down by Atogwe.

49ers receiver Michael Crabtree makes a 16-yard touchdown catch in front of Rams cornerback Ron Bartell during the fourth quarter Sunday in San Francisco. The 49ers won 23-20 in overtime. (BEN MARGOT ~ Associated Press)

The previous road loss, Josh Freeman's 1-yard touchdown pass to Cadillac Williams with 10 seconds remaining gave the Bucs an 18-17 win.

Atogwe complained Sunday that the ball wasn't catchable, and reiterated that thought on Monday, adding that he wouldn't have changed a thing on coverage.

"You always want the game to be decided by the men playing it," Atogwe said. "I don't believe [Walker] would have gotten to that one."

Spagnuolo didn't think road woes had become a mental block for players and expected the bitter taste from the 49ers setback to be gone by the time the team resumed practice Wednesday.

"It's going to make us stronger," Atogwe said. "There wasn't a point in that game yesterday where we didn't believe that we were going to win. It didn't happen for us this time, but that same belief is within us."

The Rams are in a stretch of playing four of five games on the road. This week is the exception. They're 4-1 at home heading into Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons (7-2), who have the NFC's best record.

There might be a change at cornerback this week after Kevin Dockery, who got the nod ahead of Bradley Fletcher, was burned for a couple of big plays, but Spagnuolo was noncommittal.

"Bottom line, I just have to stay with my man," Dockery said. "Playing DB, cornerback especially, you have to have a short-term memory."

Rookie offensive tackle Rodger Saffold sprained his right ankle, but X-rays and an MRI exam were negative for a high ankle sprain and he could play this week. Safety James Butler is expected back from an ankle injury and wide receiver Danario Alexander, the team's best deep threat, could return to practice from minor knee surgery.